This is spot on!! I've been freelancing for almost 4 years doing mostly social media managment - i moved into an agency model in the last year but man, there's a lot of advice out there but it's really like throwing spaghetti at a wall :) Love and appreciate your pricing advice - my prices are nearly triple what they were in comparison to my first client - i have a minimum and well, theres no maximum ;) I wish i had this back when i first started out!
These are all so great and definitely wish I knew some of this when I started out doing freelance lifecycle/retention marketing/strategy.
One other thing from me: Figure out what your "baseline win" is. You aren't always going to be making a ton of money or working with the most amazing clients. Sometimes a job is a job and that's ok. I left a full time role at a non profit and was working with clients secretly in the background before I left to build up a base (like your tip!), so when I finally left my full time job, my baseline win was "as long as I am making the same amount but working less, that is a win." The FT role I left was draining and we were all over worked and underpaid. If I was making the same as my yearly salary but working less, I was very happy.
Freelance world is wild and there are a lot of ebbs and flows. Making sure I am still doing at least as well as my baseline helps me be less anxious when things are a little slow (like right now).
This is really succinct and fantastic advice. As someone who’s worked in social media for a decade (and freelanced for a bit of that) I think this is spot on (and definitely wish I hadn’t learned a lot of these things the hard way. Really appreciate your thoughtfulness in putting this together and sharing, I’m about to take on a freelance client again after a little time off and this was just the shot in the arm I needed!
As a long-time consultant, I often talk to people starting out and give almost this exact same advice. So thank you for putting it in writing and sharing so many great tools -- I wish I'd had this starting out!
This was so good! Link in Bio newsletter and community has been the most incredibly and timely resource this past year. This may be my favorite so far, thank you Rachel 🙌🏾🔥
Thank you thank you thank you thank you. This is literally helpful for me *today* as I wrangle a proposal that was veering a little scatterbrained. I so appreciate the work you and your interviewees put into this!
As someone thinking of pivoting or trying to forge a new career, really could not be more grateful for this free resource and insight into the world of freelance!
As a freelancer, I have been saying I wish there was a clear-cut guide for people at a higher experience level. Your newsletter is always so valuable, but this raised the bar once again. Thank you, thank you for all you do!
This is spot on!! I've been freelancing for almost 4 years doing mostly social media managment - i moved into an agency model in the last year but man, there's a lot of advice out there but it's really like throwing spaghetti at a wall :) Love and appreciate your pricing advice - my prices are nearly triple what they were in comparison to my first client - i have a minimum and well, theres no maximum ;) I wish i had this back when i first started out!
These are all so great and definitely wish I knew some of this when I started out doing freelance lifecycle/retention marketing/strategy.
One other thing from me: Figure out what your "baseline win" is. You aren't always going to be making a ton of money or working with the most amazing clients. Sometimes a job is a job and that's ok. I left a full time role at a non profit and was working with clients secretly in the background before I left to build up a base (like your tip!), so when I finally left my full time job, my baseline win was "as long as I am making the same amount but working less, that is a win." The FT role I left was draining and we were all over worked and underpaid. If I was making the same as my yearly salary but working less, I was very happy.
Freelance world is wild and there are a lot of ebbs and flows. Making sure I am still doing at least as well as my baseline helps me be less anxious when things are a little slow (like right now).
Oooh yes. Very good point!
It's difficult to choose a favorite since all your newsletters are so great. However, this one is without a doubt the most helpful of them all!
So glad to hear this!!
This is really succinct and fantastic advice. As someone who’s worked in social media for a decade (and freelanced for a bit of that) I think this is spot on (and definitely wish I hadn’t learned a lot of these things the hard way. Really appreciate your thoughtfulness in putting this together and sharing, I’m about to take on a freelance client again after a little time off and this was just the shot in the arm I needed!
So glad you enjoyed it!!
As a long-time consultant, I often talk to people starting out and give almost this exact same advice. So thank you for putting it in writing and sharing so many great tools -- I wish I'd had this starting out!
Thank you Rachel!!!! You deserve a medal for this
This was so good! Link in Bio newsletter and community has been the most incredibly and timely resource this past year. This may be my favorite so far, thank you Rachel 🙌🏾🔥
Thank you thank you thank you thank you. This is literally helpful for me *today* as I wrangle a proposal that was veering a little scatterbrained. I so appreciate the work you and your interviewees put into this!
so happy it was helpful!!
As someone thinking of pivoting or trying to forge a new career, really could not be more grateful for this free resource and insight into the world of freelance!
So so glad to hear it's helpful!
As a freelancer, I have been saying I wish there was a clear-cut guide for people at a higher experience level. Your newsletter is always so valuable, but this raised the bar once again. Thank you, thank you for all you do!
Thanks so much for the kind words!!
So helpful! I'd love to see portfolio examples of not-so-established people, too.